The Sun Sets
by JustLikePagliacciDid
Summary: The dog bays. The stag watches. The hawk descends. As Rei teeters on the edge, the Sun goes lower, lower, lower... and her shadow is getting longer, longer, longer... AU
1. The Hound

**A/N:** Edited by Hamstadini. Yay.

**The Sun Sets**

By DarckRedd

_The birds, yeah, they're silent now,_

_The skies, yeah, they're spreading wide.  
The lights, yeah, they're goin' out.  
Yeah, yeah, the sun's settin', the sun's settin'.  
And it's never gonna rise._

Rei looked up. The upstairs neighbors were playing music, loudly. Rei was not one for music; Commander Ikari called it a distraction. He face twisted into a faint frown. If this was a distraction, it would be best to remove herself from it, but where was she to go? NERV? No, there was no use in going there, as she was not desired for Synch Testing or duties in Terminal Dogma. It was the weekend, so there was little to be gained from going to school. She was vaguely aware that most girls her age would be going to the mall or on dates, but Rei was not like girls her age, nor did she know where the mall was, nor did she have anyone to 'date.'

The music reached a merciless crescendo, roaring guitars coupled with a male vocalist's inarticulate howls of rage. Rei began to change from her pajamas to a school uniform. She had never experienced a headache before, but she was getting some idea of what it might feel like. As she did the buttons, the music abruptly stopped. She froze, listening for a few moments. Did they stop, in their infinite magnanimity and mercy?

The next track started, this one louder and more grating then the last. Rei could not discern any musical or tonal difference between the two compositions, beyond volume and greater lack of talent. Still frowning, she finished dressing and stepped outside, escaping the tones. As she walked down the road, she passed by the other denizens of her apartment complex: they all looked tired and weak. Many of them worked the minimum wage jobs for many hours a day on the week; the weekend was the only chance they got to rest.

She exited her apartment without incident.

-

Rei was used to having a plan, and here she had none. Her usual plan was to follow a plan devised by her superiors, and so without her superior's commands she was rather directionless. She boarded a train to take her south, into the center of the city. Commander Ikari warned her that, while Section 02 made sure that her apartment was safe, she was in somewhat more danger wandering around the area. This seemed like good advice.

The train station was busy, as always. Families were going to the park, young couples going to the mall, the rare depressed weekend worker going to his menial job. Trains rushed in and out with all possible speed; conductors hurried their charges through full schedules. The noise was constant. Rei was about to board when she saw something curious. Another monorail had just pulled in, and disembarking from it was her fellow pilot Shinji Ikari.

Rei froze in front of the entrance to the train. Ikari-kun looked very nervous, as if he were in a completely unfamiliar environment. He had come to her house before, but that was a rather awkward occasion which involved molestation and glasses.

The mono's door closed, leaving Rei outside.

Lacking any other course of action, she made her way to her comrade. He seemed very lost, and, after all, she was ordered to assist the other pilots whenever possible.

Rei was standing behind him. "Ikari-kun?"

The boy started and turned around.

"Oh! H-hey Ayanami…"

"What are you doing here, Ikari-kun?"

"Just… err… going for a ride."

"Why, Ikari-kun?"

"I don't need an excuse to go for a ride!" There was a pause. "Umm… Sorry. I'm nervous, that's all."

Ikari-kun was behaving in a very odd fashion; Rei wondered if she should her Section 02 tail and have him brought in for psych evaluation.

"Do you want to… go somewhere?" asked Shinji, shiftily.

"Why, Ikari-kun?"

"Just… because."

"Because why, Ikari-kun?"

"Because…" The boy ran a hand through his hair. "Well… if you have something else to do…" Now he seemed somewhat put out.

A series of connections formed in Rei's head.

_This is the behavior expressed by adolescent males when courting a potential mate; I have observed it at school. The traditional responses would be for the courted partner to acquiesce, gently refuse, or physically assault him._ Rei had already slapped Ikari-kun once in her life, but based on the precedent established during the first incident, this was hardly a justifiable response in this case. He had, after all, done nothing to insult the one of the few men with the vision to see that humanity's only hopewere the Evangelions.

Rei quickly searched her mind for some suggestion of how to react. She did not, after all, want to give Ikari-kun the idea that they would copulate, as two of her classmates had been caught doing in the cleaning supply cabinet the prior week. Rei wondered if she should be flattered that such an event had brought any such interest in her, above all the other girls in the class, to the front.

"Ayanami?" stuttered Shinji, breaking her reverie.

Rei quickly decided that it would be constructive to enter a better rapport with her fellow pilots, to add to their efficiency in battle. This was a poor excuse and she knew it, but she could do nothing else except waste time, which, according to the Commander, was one of the worst things one could possibly do.

"Where would we go, Ikari-kun?"

"I dunno…" Shinji offered, nervously. Rei reflected that his planning was every bit as poor as hers, but made no comment. "They opened a new restaurant down in the mall, we could go there…" he offered, nervously.

"It will be crowded," observed Rei.

"That's true." There was a long silence. "Wait, I have an idea."

-

Rei could not shake a peculiar, unshakable sensation in her abdomen as she sat across from Ikari-kun, eating ramen. It was a very low-key area; only a few people were there.

"So, Ayanami," Shinji began. The boy was practically in cold sweats. "What do you do when you're not piloting?"

How was she to answer that? Rei mused on her activities when she was in her Evangelion. There was terminal dogma (classified), combat training (classified), meetings with Commander Ikari (probably upsetting to Ikari-kun), and spending time at home (unclassified, but disinteresting).

"I swim," she said, lamely.

"Oh." Ikari-kun seemed disappointed. Rei wondered why.

Suddenly, the small chimes sounded, indicating a new customer entered. Rei instinctively looked back and saw, much to her surprise, Sohryu walking in. The moment the redhead caught sight of her, she stepped back and barred the entrance.

Sohryu stared at Ayanami.

Ayanami stared at Sohryu.

"Come on, let's go somewhere else," muttered Sohryu, and she turned and ran.

"Hey, what-?" a vaguely familiar voice demanded, but was cut off.

"That was odd," observed Ikari.

-

Rei and Shinji walked through the park. Rei saw that other couples were in the park, and dearly hoped that Ikari-kun was not getting the wrong idea. The boy was extremely depressed as it was.

"I really liked this, Ayanami," Shinji continued. He had been talking for some time, but Rei was only listening close enough to listen 'yes' or 'no' when appropriate. She enjoyed feeling the breath of the air, enjoyed the watching the ripples of the lake. "Ayanami?"

Rei's head swiveled towards Shinji. When she looked at him, that strange sense of sickness she felt in her stomach grew stronger. "What is it, Ikari-kun?"

"It's nothing," the boy said, suddenly, looking away.

Rei looked back towards the water. As she did, however, she saw a large dog, standing by the shore. It had bright, orange eyes and a black coat. It appeared to be some kind of huskey, although which type she could not define easily. Its mouth was opening, but saliva did not drip from its tongue. A series of subliminal messages fired rapidly.

_There is a Hawk. It circles above me, screeching periodically; its voice ricocheting across the valleys. I look down, and I see the stag, watching me solemnly from between the trees. I turn around, and I see the Hound. _

"_Ayanami?! Please, say something?!" a voice calls, but I cannot see who speaks._

_The hound stares at me solemnly. I cannot tell whether he attends to attack me or simply watch. He is a guarded creature. I turn back around, and see that the stag is getting closer, slowly. It is a majestic creature. _

"_She's going into cardiac arrest!" someone calls, but I pay them no heed. Slowly, I walk towards the Hound and crouch before it. It looks at me, and I look at it. I reach out and scratch behind its ears, as I have seen others do. It seems pleased, whimpering softly. I look around and I see the Stag is gone. I look up, and I see that the Hawk still circles. Suddenly, it descends, talons extended with a scream. It gets closer, closer-_

-

Shinji sat in the waiting room, dully staring at the geometric pattern on the linoleum floor. At his back was the fig leaf of NERV – God in his heaven, all's right with the world. Nothing was right, and Shinji could attest to that.

Suddenly, Misato burst in, closely followed by Asuka. "Shin-chan!" calls Misato, rushing forward and embracing her ward. "Shinji-chan, what happened?"

"I don't know," Shinji choked out.

Asuka looked on in disgust, but said nothing.

"One moment she was standing, and the next- the next, she was just on the ground…"

"You can't even manage one date without something going awry," said Asuka, derisively. "Nice one, _dummkopf._"

Misato flashed Asuka a dirty look. "Don't worry, Shinji. Everything will be fine."

-

_My eye is bleeding. The wetness crawls down my face. It doesn't hurt. I fashion from a strip of my clothes, as I was taught. _

_I am on a cliff. Before me is the sea. Out across thousands upon thousands of miles, the Sun Sets. _

_The Sun Sets._


	2. The Corpse

**The Sun Sets: Waxing**  
By DarckRedd

_  
I don't know where I came from,  
I don't know where I'm going,  
All I know: I'm dying,_

_Going, going, gone._

Shinji woke up. The morning sun rose in the over the hills. Shinji shielded his eyes as he sat up. Misato had apparently laid him on a bench, her jacket placed over him by way of a blanket. He shed the garment and got up – his legs felt cramped and hard. Nurses were going about their morning rounds, ignoring him. The memories came back: Rei's abrupt fall to the ground, the mixed feelings of guilt and panic as he summoned the paramedics.

What had brought it on? The doctors had not said as they stood over her, frantically trying to save the fragile girl. Was it something in the food? Rei had said she disliked eating meat, but she'd eaten ramen and salad. Was it something in the air? Was it something he had done? It was the same circular interrogation he had conducted one hundred times. Whatever the case, Rei had paid dearly – she had lost the use of her left eye, or so the doctors had said.

Finally, he worked up the courage to go into her room.

Rei was sitting upright, staring at the ceiling. Shinji stopped as he entered, looking at her. Her head swiveled to face him, impassive. They watched.

The heart monitor went _bleep, bleep, bleep._

"What is it, Ikari-kun?" asked Rei, finally.

"I- I just wanted to see how you were, that's all," choked out Shinji.

"The doctors saw to me earlier, Ikari-kun," Rei replied, inexpressively. "They said I am recovering nicely."

"That's good," Shinji said.

"Do you need something of me, Ikari-kun?" asked Rei.

"No…" Her eyes gave no hint of her inner thoughts. "I'm sorry, Rei. That's all."

"I don't understand, Ikari-kun. I had a heart attack; that is no fault of yours."

"It's not that, Rei," Shinji began, his thoughts whirling. "But if I never asked you to go with me, you would have never suffered the attack."

Rei looked out the window, although with only one eye. She tried to remember the period shortly before her experience; the stroll past the lakes. But she could not – the only thing she could recall of that period was the setting sun.

"Ikari-kun?"

"Huh?"

"Do not misunderstand me. I do not hold you responsible-" She froze. The words were caught in her throat; she could not articulate them, she could not even force them out. Her breath froze in her lungs. Her eyes swiveled towards Ikari, looking for assistance, but the boy was not friendly, he was grinning wide, his eyes were hostile, his skin pale and deathly. He reached in his mouth and produced an egg. He extended it towards her.

"Why – don't – you – make – it – hatch?"

"Ayanami?"

Rei looked up. Shinji was looking at her, worried

"Ayanami, are you all right?"

"Yes," Rei said, finally. She wiped some of the dribble from her chin.

-

"Why did it happen?" asked Gendo, coldly. Ritsuko felt unnerved in his office; it was a dark, sullen place, filled with bad energy – chi, the Chinese called it. It gave her the shivers.

"We're not quite sure," replied Ritsuko, swallowing back her discomfort. "Textbooks would tell us she experienced a stroke as a result of some kind of blood clot in the brain. Since the chance of a fourteen-year-old in perfect health developing a blood clot are rather slim, we are left with few possibilities."

"Such as?"

"Well, a behavioral trigger, for one thing… some stimuli triggered memories a past trauma."

There was a silence.

"That is an interesting possibility."

Ritsuko had several others outlined, but she was in no mood to spend more time here than necessary.

"How so, sir?"

"Rei is… the way she is because I – with SEELE's assistance – used neural grafting to engineer her psyche."

Ritsuko stared, dumbfounded. Neural grafting… strictly illegal in any UN country, a dire violation of medical ethics… She was still recovering when the commander continued.

"Neural grafting is, of course, dangerous even when performed under the best circumstances. It seems that my work was not as… perfect as when it was first declared complete."

"But… sir…"

"What?"

"It's illegal!"

"We left the law behind long time ago, Akagi."

Not untrue, Ritsuko reflected. Her cold, objective mind began to integrate this new information into the whole. It would call for a new regimen of drugs to keep her stable.

"You should have told me of this earlier. I could have adapted her medication to it."

Gendo grinned mirthlessly. "I knew you could be trusted with this information, Doctor."

-

_Night. It is the night._

A soft humming filled the air. People looked up, around, disquieted; this was no ordinary humming. It was a cruel humming, something that warbled to shake your very teeth in your head. Then, it was there; a sphere with a twisting skin, floating in the sky. People stared in surprise as it made its slow progression across the city, silently.

_Night. It is the night._

The humming intensified until people twisted in their seats, their minds sent rocketing in patterns unfamiliar, and then the sirens came.

-

Asuka was the first one to arrive. The LCL swirled about her; she felt the familiar sting of it in her eyes. She began to synchronize; it was a comforting sensation, "Asuka," Misato's voice crackled through the radio, "We're putting you on standby Shinji arrives."

_That son of a bitch,_ thought Asuka, sourly. Always late, always stupid, always there when she wanted him somewhere else. A visual feed opened on her monitor, showing the monstrous creature. It had no apparent weapons or means of assault; it was a floating black-and-white blob.

"What… is it?" asked Asuka.

"We don't know," Ritsuko's voice intoned. "Our sensors are having no luck in analyzing it. Stand by."

_Stand by! Stand by! Stand by!_ They were holding her back, dammit! But, alas, that was her lot…

"Third Child is in the Entry Plug," reported Misato. "Now, I just want you two to observe the Angel. Do not launch a full-on attack until my mark. Launch!" The Evas rocketed towards the surface. As Asuka flew up, she mused on how she intended to butcher this Angel and then give Shinji a nice tongue-lashing for being late.

The two Evangelions emerged. They both grabbed weapons from the armories disguised as buildings. Leliel floated around a corner, blindly moving towards the twin AT Fields. Asuka raised her weapon. "Die," she whispered.

-

A cataclysmic darkness erupted around it, submerging buildings in shadow. They sunk as if in the sea, the people within eternally lost to the void-beyond-the-cosmos, the pit large and small. The sphere with the twisted skin hovered forward, consuming the concrete mountains, making them as-nothing. The two sentinels fired at the sphere of the twisted skin, fire erupting all around it; it vanished, as nothing. The shadows opened up, the void was open, but then the sentinels were away, even as their concrete mountains fell into nothing around them. The greater Sentinel leaped onto the falling buildings, dodging between the structures until it was over the sphere of the twisted skin. She was descending; _the hawk_, and she landed, tearing with savage blades of the finest metals ripped from the fragile ground; and then the sphere turned upon itself, and the greater fell into the darkness.

-

Sirens moaned. "Asuka, report in!" Unit 02 was sinking. Shinji led his Eva onto a building and reached down, trying to grab Unit 02 as it sank into that abominable void. Her radio feed had turned into a glob of static; only the faintest hints of a panicked human voice could be heard through it.

Unit 01 was being pulled into the darkness. "Shinji! Withdraw!" yelled Misato.

"She'll die!" moaned Shinji, desperately.

"She doesn't want you to die too! _Let her go!_"

Reluctantly, Shinji obeyed; Asuka disappeared into the shadows.

--

Asuka ran, but it was always at her heels, the barking hound and its murderous pack. Her legs were short again, her skirt was tripping her. Why, oh why did she have to be a little girl? She could hear (_fear?_) the pounding of their feet, their savage barks rising into the moonlit sky.

There was a shack up ahead. Asuka ran for it; the sweat was running into her eyes, her fragile feet were bleeding from myriad scratches. The forest rushed by, its low branches slapping her in the face. The entire world was arrayed against her!

She burst through the door, pushed it shut, and drew the oaken bar – she could barely reach it in her child body. She turned around, and hanging from the rafters was the Corpse, leering down at her with rotted eyes; a crow cawed from the carcass's shoulder, almost laughing at her, with its low, beady eyes.

--

Rei stared at the footage on the monitor. Unit 02 was lost, at least for the moment. Unit 01 retreated safely to NERV. Civilians were being evacuated from their shelters to the countryside. The JSDF massed troops and N2 weapons around the Angel, anonymous behind their black gasmasks.

And Rei sat in her bed.

Mercifully, there was no loud music.

Her thoughts drifted back to Ikari-kun. He had dutifully traveled in the ambulance and sat at her bedside during her ordeal. When she had awoken, he was the first thing she had seen, before even the Commander strode into her room and ordered the Third out. Before, even, she had seen any nurses.

The doctors said she had experienced a sudden stroke, of unknown cause. She had lost the use of her left eye, blinding her to half the room. This was an odd development – Doctor Akagi had reported her to have a clean bill of health during her last checkup, which was only a week ago. She was certain that she had not eaten anything she was allergic to, and she did not think that Ikari-kun would intentionally poison harm her. What, then, caused the stroke?

She lay back on the pillow. The doctors had told her to rest, and so she resolved to rest – little else could be achieved at the moment.

-

Asuka quivered, huddling against the oak door. The corpse hung over her, swinging faintly. The crow cawed loudly, watching her. Suddenly, the dogs slammed into the door, throwing her away from it, at the feet of the corpse. Asuka looked up at it, on the verge of tears. It was her mother, the madwoman – her bloodshot eyes staring down at Asuka, her cheek eaten away by the crow exposing a twisted line of blackened gums. Asuka crabwalked back, looking around the cabin – a medical med, a heart monitor, and the doll, the vile doll. Gripped by a sudden, destructive rage, she rushed over to the doll. Its porcelain skin was perfect, but its azure eyes were dead and empty, leering out at Asuka.

"You goddamn doll," Asuka whispered, and dashed its head against the floor, its skin shattering… and blood spilled from its head.

-

Rei dreamt again. The First did not typically dream, except about Evas and Angels, and occasionally about school. She was standing in a long hospital corridor, gazing down it. In the distance she could hear the yipping of hounds, and scratching. Slowly, she walked down the hallway, between unmarked doors. Once, she tried to open one, and found it had no doorknob.

Finally, she saw the pack of dogs, in front of a room that had a doorknob – room 402. Rei instantly broke into a cold sweat, without properly knowing why. She had seen dogs before, and yet now they triggered a horror deep inside her. She approached the hounds, and they ignored her, intent on battering down the door.

"Go away," Rei said. Her voice held neutral, yet terror gripped her heart. The dogs could maul her at any moment, their claws and teeth stripping the flesh from her bone. All of the dogs immediately looked at her, dark eyes unreadable. She stared back. At last, they all turned and ran down the hall, their short claws clicking on the linoleum floor. Slowly, Rei turned to the hospital door. _Room 402…_

She turned the doorknob.

-

Asuka cowered.

"That's not very nice," whispered the cadaver, standing over her. "You killed my baby."

Asuka turned to flee, but she slipped in the doll's blood. She went down, and the shattered porcelain cut through her legs. Asuka cried out in pain, and suddenly the corpse's hands closed around her throat, lifting the little girl into the air. Asuka's own legs spilled blood, the porcelain stills ticking out of her young flesh. Her windpipe was closed, even as her small hands had struggled against the necrotic muscles that chocked her. Asuka's vision began to blurr, her legs slowed their kicking.

Suddenly, a chair smashed over the corpse's head. It turned around, releasing Asuka, who plummeted to the ground. Her cuts screamed in agony as the porcelain was shoved deeper into her wounds. The First Child faced the dead body, dressed in her school uniform. The decomposed body lunged forward, and Rei agilely dodged. As the body clumsily turned, Rei swept child-Asuka into her arms and fled the room. Asuka was almost blinded by pain.

--

"Are you sure this going to work?" asked Misato. They stood on a hill, surrounded by the JSDF soldiers. Unit 01 towered overhead.

"There's no way to be sure," replied Ritsuko. "It could be that she's… she's lost for good."

There was a silence as they looked towards Leliel's expanding darkness.

"How is Shinji taking it?"

"Not well. First Rei… now this? It's too much for him."

"He's got to keep it together. He may be the only pilot we have left, assuming Rei is out of the picture."

"Don't tell me that," Misato said, bitterly. "I just had a talk with him."

"Oh?"

"I have him convinced that you'd save Asuka... It's the only way we could get him into the Eva."

Ritsuko sighed and removed her glasses, polished them. "It's not a sure thing, Misato. It never is; we barely _understand_ the Angels, much less predict their behavior."

"What did you want me to do? Let him stay in the locker room and sulk?"

"I know… but what if she doesn't come back?"

"Then we're screwed."

"**Operation Lighthouse to commence in five minutes**," cried a loudspeaker.

"That's my cue," Ritsuko said, almost sadly.


	3. The Night

**The Sun Sets**

_I am the tempest,  
dousing the earth,  
I am the Lightning,  
Scorching the ground,  
She's in the eye of the storm,  
Taking a nap._

Unit 01 knelt at the shore of the shadow, as if it was praying. Misato watched impassively, her hair waving out behind her in the gentle northern wind. The hum of machinery was omnipresent, constant, but the woman had grown use to it.

"**Operation Lighthouse will now commence,**" the loudspeakers screeched. "**Releasing charge in five… four… three… two… one-**"

-

Agony blossomed in Asuka; the pain in her legs seemed to be everywhere. The cuts in her legs refused to stop bleeding. She was distantly aware of the warmth of Rei's arms, caring her child body through the eternal hallways. The doors flew past, each sealed without a doorknob.

"Sohryu, speak," said Rei, loudly.

"Ay-Aya-Ayanami," Asuka choked out, trying to drive away the cruel sensation.

"Continue," Rei said.

"Ay-Aya-Ayanami – where are we – g-going?" Stars danced in front of her eyes; high pitched ringing invaded her senses. It was an ordeal like no other.

-

Rei looked down. She recognized the red-headed child as Sohryu. She was plainly in mortal danger. Rei never stopped to consider what mysterious circumstances led to this encounter; she only thought on how she could treat Sohryu's injury. First, she would have to extract the shards from her legs. Next would be cleaning and binding the injuries; processes Rei was quite familiar with.

Finally, they reached the end of hall. Sohryu's eyes looked glazed and empty. She was going into shock.

"Sohryu, speak to me," Rei said.

"Mama," whimpered the child.

The situation was rapidly deteriorating. At the end of the hall was another door with a knob. Having no arms free, Rei kicked it in, shattering the lock. Inside was a room that looked… just like her apartment. Rei took a few moments to be surprised; everything was there, her bed, her box of old bandages, the tiny mobile over her bed, and even the drugs. Rei strode over and deposited Sohryu on the bed. Blood spread across the sheets immediately, dyeing the sheets sanguine. Rei turned back to the door, looking for some way to brace it.

"Mama…" moaned Sohryu. "Mama… please…"

Rei grabbed a chair from the kitchen and propped it against the door. She did not know who or what had assaulted Sohryu, except that it was not yet neutralized. She turned back the wounded child; she had stained the sheets maroon. Rei rapidly recalled her first-aid training.

She went to her bedside table and opened the bottom drawer. Inside was a box of latex gloves; Rei pulled a pair on and stood up. Sohryu continued to whimper inarticulately. Rei stood over the young girl. This was the only way…

-

The Cables were lowered into Leliel's black mass, ending in naked copper. Trucks equipped with monstrous transformers lined Leliel's dark shores, black chrome glistening in the afternoon heat.

"Electrocute it," Misato muttered, from terminal dogma. "Such a brilliant plan."

"It won't be brilliant. It'll stay good old black," corrected Ritsuko.

"**Operation Lighthouse has commenced!**" Thousands of volts of electricity streamed through the transformers into Leliel.

"The target is approaching the DeBois Limit!" Maya shouted. "Reaching Limit in five… four… three… two… one…"

-

Shinji stared into the darkness, brow furrowed in concentration. He had to save Asuka. He had to save Asuka… He was poised, ready to jump in at Misato's command.

"Go, Shinji!" his guardian yelled. Shinji dived into the darkness, connected to the outer world only by the umbilical cable.

-

"The Event Horizon is shrinking!" yelled Shigeru, fingers flying across his keyboard.

"Come on…" muttered Misato.

"Unit 01 is descending… two hundred meters… three hundred meters… four hundred meters."

"The charge has passed the DuBois limit! The target is shrinking!"

-

If Shinji had anything to judge it by, he would have known that he was falling very, very, rapidly. He did not know where the bottom was, only that, if Ritsuko was right, it should be rising as he was falling. And, hopefully, Asuka would be down there, still alive.

Finally, a pinprick of red appeared in the distance. Shinji strained his eyes to see it. Yes! It was Asuka!"

-

**Crash!** Rei turned around and saw the door quiver. Her school uniform and latex gloves were covered in blood. Her equally sanguine eyes scanned the room. _This is a negative development._

**Crash!** The door bent visibly inward. Asuka looked around for something to use as a weapon. She vaguely recalled that a plumber had abandoned a led pipe in her bathroom long ago. She hurried into the washroom; sure enough, the pipe was there. Suddenly, wood splintered She swiped it off of the ground and hurried back, bare feet pattering softly on the linoleum.

The corpse was standing over Asuka's body, grinning maniacally. She showed no sign of injury from the chair being broken over her head.

"Naughty, naughty little girl," the corpse said, a sing-song voice. "Killing babies is very bad. You'll have to be punished."

"Don't kill me!" moaned Asuka. Her legs were a mass of cuts and scrapes.

The corpse began to stumble closed its hands around Sohryu's throat. Rei rushed forward, swinging the pipe with the full weight of her body.

A hand flew out, catching the blow.

"So, the naughty girl has a friend," said the dead body, smirking.

-

"The voltage is rapidly decreasing!" yelled Shigeru. Klaxons moaned.

"What's happening?!" demanded Misato, jumping up from her chair.

"Increase the voltage!" ordered Ritsuko.

"No effect!" Maya yelled back.

"What's happening?!" demanded Misato, grabbing her friend by the collar.

"Leliel's adapted," muttered Ritsuko.

-

The void expanded; trucks fell into it, countless souls lost to the shadows. Men jumped out of their vehicles and fled, running from the expanding shores.

-

"What now?!" demanded Misato.

"Plan B," muttered Ritsuko.

-

A bomber flew over the chaotic scene silently. Below it was Leliel and its warped, spherical surface, slowly spinning.

"Confirming orders," said the captain, emotionlessly. "Bombs away."

The weapon fell into the shadows.

-

The corpse closed its fingers around Rei's throat, and lifted her into air. Rei kicked furiously, connecting solidly several times, but the creature might as well be made of stone.

Sohryu continued to whimper and moan, no help there.

Rei began to become numb in her extremities. Her vision began to blurr.

An orange light flashed, and Rei fell to the ground. The corpse's two severed arms were still attached to her throat, but the power was gone from them.

The dead woman ambled forward, kicking out. Rei yanked the severed limbs from her throat and jumped to her feet, swept up the pipe. The corpse opened its mouth, revealing rotten, broken teeth, like fangs. She snapped at Rei, neck stretched in front of her body. Rei swung the pipe round and smashed its skull. Blood and brain sprayed across the room.

-

"No…" whispered Misato. The bomb plummeted through the air, a silver speck against the blue afternoon sky.

"It was the last resort," said Ritsuko, quietly. "There's no other way.

Leliel continued to expand, threatening to consume the entire city.

"Hopefully," the scientist continued, the void will collapse and Units 01 and 02 will be released…"

"You know that's not going to happen."

The bomb disappeared into the void.

"Yes," sighed Ritsuko. "Probably-"

Misato's fist connected firmly with Ritsuko's jaw. The blonde keeled over backwards, her head striking the floor with a crack.

"You bitch!" screamed Misato, as the bridge hands rushed to restrain her. "You think that they're _chess pieces_? To be sacrificed and traded as necessity calls for?! They're not!"

Ritsuko's eyes widened as she rubbed her jaw.

"Misato… are insane?" she demanded. "I think you knocked a tooth loose…"

"Major Katsuragi, control yourself," Gendo said, "Or I will have Section 02 place you in a holding cell until you are prepared to behave like an adult."

Misato looked up at him, Aoba and Shigeru both holding her arms. "He was your _child_," she hissed at him. "What does that mean to you, Commander? Does it mean anything at all?"

Gendo said nothing.

"The object's AT Field is inverting!" Maya shouted.

-

Rei stared at the fallen monster. It had lost its arms and its skull was bashed in, but even now it still twitched. Slowly, she walked over the Asuka, who had fallen silent, prone for stretched out across the crimson sheets. "Sohryu," Rei said. "Sohryu, please speak. Sorhyu!"

Rei pushed the girl face up. Asuka's eyes were glazed and empty. Rei's stomach clenched. Many things could have been wrong with Sohryu – infection, shock, blood loss – Rei was stuck. She needed professional assistance.

"Ayanami." The voice was familiar. Boots crunched on shattered wood. Rei turned around and saw Misato Katsuragi, but the Major was not the same woman whom Rei recalled from NERV. Her hair was short, she wore no makeup or earrings, and she was dressed in a particularly unflattering black coat. "What's happened."

Rei pointed at the corpse. "Sohryu and I were assaulted by… this individual."

Misato walked over to the still-twitching body. She kicked it. One of the corpse's stumps lashed out. Misato jumped back. "People have been going insane all over the city; we're completely overtaxed. I had to come myself to retrieve you."

Rei contemplated this development. Who was this new Katsuragi? And what was going on? Why was Sohryu a child? How had they traveled from the hospital room to her apartment?

Rei articulated it all in one sentence: "I do not understand the situation, Major."

"The Angel is causing people to lose control of their impulses." Misato waved at the window. "It's an orgy of rape and murder out there. We have a chopper on the roof – and maybe a change of clothes for you. You could upset the techies."

"I do not understand, Major."

"Look down."

Rei looked down. Her clothes were covered with blood, brain, and filth.

-

The bridge crew watched as Leliel burst, it's skin splitting like a head on the chopping block. Units 01 and 02 emerged, their armor dented and torn, their eyes going.

-

A scream split through Rei's sleep. Her eyes opened. A nurse stood in the entrance to her hospital room, face pale, mouth wide. Rei looked down. Her hospital gown was died a deep red. Rei sat up, slowly.


End file.
